Ariane 5 sets new record via the lofting of Intelsat pair

Arianespace successfully launched its fourth Ariane 5 mission of the year with the deployment of two more telecommunication satellites from the European Spaceport in Kourou on Thursday. The launch of Intelsat 33e and Intelsat 36 marked the heaviest launch to date for the European workhorse, with liftoff in the middle of the launch window at 22:17 UTC.
Ariane 5 Launch:

Arianespace will also be at the center of a new launch vehicle, the Ariane 6, which has been approved by the ESA members.

This latest mission was designated Flight VA232 in Arianespace’s launcher family numbering system and was the 231st Ariane mission since this series of vehicles entered operation in 1979.

T-0 targetted the start of a 45-minute launch window at the Ariane Launch Complex No. 3 (ELA 3). However, a boat in the range delayed the T-0 to the middle of the window.

The Ariane 5 mission had a total payload lift performance of 10,735 kg – which is a new record upmass number for an Ariane 5 mission to Geostationary Transfer orbit – by 5 kg.

This total included the two Intelsat satellites, as well as the launcher’s SYLDA dual-payload deployment system and the protective payload fairing.

The launch profile for the Ariane 5 began with lift off around seven seconds after the ignition of the main stage cryogenic engine at T-0, with the two solid-propellant boosters ignited, enabling liftoff.

The launcher first climbed vertically for 6 seconds, then rotated towards the East. It maintained an attitude that ensured the axis of the launcher remained parallel to its velocity vector, in order to minimize aerodynamic loads throughout the entire atmospheric phase, until the solid boosters are jettisoned.

The fairing protecting the payload was jettisoned at T+200 seconds.

Once this first part of the flight was completed, the onboard computers optimized the trajectory in real time, minimizing propellant consumption to bring the launcher first to the intermediate orbit targeted at the end of the main stage propulsion phase, and then the final orbit at the end of the flight of the cryogenic upper stage.

The main stage splashed down off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean (in the Gulf of Guinea).

At orbital injection, the launcher will have attained a velocity of approximately 9,365 meters/second, and was at an altitude of 640 kilometers.

Riding as the upper passenger in Ariane 5’s payload arrangement was Intelsat 33e. It was released approximately 28 minutes into the mission.

The spacecraft was built by Boeing using a 702MP platform, and will operate from an orbital position of 60 deg. With an estimated liftoff mass of 6,600 kg, this bird was the 52nd satellite built by Boeing (or its predecessors) to be launched by Arianespace.

With a liftoff mass of around 3,253 kg, Intelsat 36 has a role in enhancing Intelsat’s media neighborhoods serving the South African and Indian Ocean region when starting operations from its 68.5 deg. East orbital position – where the satellite will be co-located with Intelsat 20, which was launched by Arianespace in August 2012.

“I would like to thank and congratulate the teams at Intelsat, Arianespace, and SSL who contributed to the successful launch of Intelsat 36,” said John Celli, president of SSL. “We are pleased to hear that the satellite, which is the second that we have delivered for Intelsat this year, is functioning according to plan.”